Imposter
by Angel de hielo
Summary: The first time Robin sees Maria Merryweather, he's pretty sure someone has made a mistake. A series of meetings and what-could-have-been. One-shot


A/N: So this is the first thing I've written in a looooong time. I apologize in adavance for any spelling or grammer errors. I watched this movie a couple nights ago and this just sort of popped into my head.

**Summary:** The first time Robin sees Maria Merryweather, he's pretty sure someone has made a mistake. A series of meetings and what-could-have been. Movie-verse.

I...don't own this book...or movie...or characters or **anything.** I'm just borrowing them.

* * *

The first time Robin sees Maria Merryweather, he's pretty sure someone has made a mistake. It's a dark and dreary day, which he supposes is fitting for a funeral. It's cold though, the wind nips at his jacket and he wishes the procession would _hurry the hell up_. The minute his father had learned of Merryweather's death, Robin had been sent out to find his daughter. She is the supposed last Moon Princess, and therefore it is very important to keep an eye on her. Or so his father says.

After spending several hours spent waiting in a graveyard, Robin questions exactly how important it is.

Finally the group arrives and the funeral begins. The minister's voice drones on and Robin searches the crowd. He skips over her, not once but twice, before realizing she is the only child (though he uses the term loosely) there. It is impossible. This girl, this tiny, fragile, emotional girl, couldn't possibly be the Moon Princess. He expected the Pricess to be vibrant and youthful, not pale and listless. She sniffles quietly, then regains her near perfect composure, throwing a rose into the open grave.

As she moves to lay a rose on a second grave, she catches sight of him, and he is frozen. The girl's face may be blank, but her eyes are clouded with so many emotions that he remains staring for a moment after she has looked away.

When she looks back a second time, he is gone.

* * *

The second time Robin sees her, he finds it almost ridiculous that anyone could believe this Maria girl is the Moon Princess. He and his partner have been silently trailing the carriage and he is becoming more astonished by the minute. She is _afraid of _(and shows open disdain for) nature. She is polite and proper and innocent and it makes him want to _hit_ something. It isn't fair that he had to grow up knowing his home is cursed and this...this...Merryweather remains so blissfully unaware.

When her chosen method of stress relief turns out to be _"classical French needlepoint"_ he nearly cries out of sheer incredulity.

All things considered though, this will make it much easier to kidnap her. Robin is on top of the carriage now, waiting to signal his partner into action. As they pull to a stop before the gates, a fiery mass of curls leans out the window. Quickly nodding to his partner, he leans down and attempts to pull her through the opening. She's just as tiny as she appears to be, but she puts up quite the struggle. Sharp, stinging pain forces him to let go and he rolls off the back of the carriage when it moves forward. His partner has been shoved back and the gate slams down.

Grasping the cold metal bars, Robin feels all the frustration bubble up in his chest. He had just lost a fight to a dimunitive city girl armed with a _sewing needle_. He couldn't hold back the scream if he tried.

* * *

When Robin comes across her a third time as he and his friends are checking the traps, he realizes this is the _first_ time he's clearly seen Maria's face. Her expression is soft, a half-smile curling at the edge of her mouth as she bends down to free the rabbit. He watches it freeze in confusion as he appears in front of her, and the brief flicker of panic as she's surrounded. She is grabbed from behind and the defiance and anger that lights up her face is breathtaking.

"I know who you are. You're bandits, and plunderers!"

A chorus of "oooohhhs" fill the air, and immediatelty she turns and begins slapping (honestly, first sewing needles, now _slapping_) the source of the nearest voice. Jumping into the fray, Robin wraps one arm around the front of her shoulders, the other around her waist and pulls her back. She fights back, tries to turn and pull away and he lets her, beacuse holding her against him and thinking about how small she seems is not helping him concentrate. _(He will not disappoint his father again.)_

When she catches sight of his injured hand she freezes, realizing he's the one who attacked her before. He can't resist the urge to taunt her, wanting to see her features twist up in anger once more. It makes her seem more alive, like there might actually be a chance that she is the Moon Princess. He leans closer, into her, and her hair is wild around her face, her eyes are bright, her breathing is harsh from the struggle and...

...and something roughly the size of a mountain knocks him off his feet. It's that stupid monster of a dog, "the demon dog" as the rest of his group calls it. They run for the forest, but he can't help but pausing for one last look at her. With her hair in tangles around her face and that giant black mutt standing by her feet, she looks like she could really be the Princess.

Then, after one last sharp bark, he darts back into the forest as well.

* * *

When Maria is found sneaking around the De Noir castle, Robin actually takes a moment to marvel at her _stupidity_. She doesn't even try to blend, her sky blue dress and firey hair stick out like a sore thumb. She turns to flee and lets out several high-pitched shrieks as she is dragged down the stairs before being deposited on her knees in front of his father.

Rather than speak, she rips her wrist out of the guards hands and presents his father with the a small golden key. It takes Robin a moment to recognize it from the pictures he's seen, but when he does, he wants to scream at her. Is she really that naive? What could possibly be accomplished by bringing them that key? What did she expect? As his father taunts Maria, her face twists up into that same expression of hatred and defiance from the forest. He realizes he doesn't like it nearly as much if he isn't the one making her face come alive.

When they move across the room, he takes the chance to grab her arm from the guards grip, pushing the other man aside. For some reason, this girl intrigues him, and until he finds out why he will keep her to himself. She struggles briefly, and he jerks her arm hard, pulling her closer, his gaze never leavinng her face. His father turns it into a big show, drawing it out as long as possible before opening the box.

The box is empty of course, yet still she accuses them. As his father tells of the Merryweathers' impending doom, a smirk twists at his mouth. Robin turns his head to stare down at her shocked face. He takes in the way her body has stopped tensing in his grip, the way her lips form a surprised looking pout and absently traces his tongue along his own lip.

"At last, the entire valley will be ours..."

Yes, Robin thinks. The valley will be theirs, and she will be his and he will discover what makes her so fascinating.

When taking her down to the dungeon he stays directly behind her, always within an arm's reach. He prods at her back every couple of steps and after a particulrly harsh shove she whirls around, hurling out acidic words. She hasn't cried, or screamed, or begged to be released so he suppouses he admires her a little, and he tells her so. The words are laced with his natural sarcasm and he receives a kick in the shin for his trouble.

The moment her foot connects her eyes widen a little, and by the time he has straightened himself out she has taken a hasty step back. It's too late, he's aready beyond furious. His hands clamp down on her arms with bruising force as he all but carries her towards the cell. Maria is roughly shoved inside and he listens with satasfaction as the door clangs shut behind her. Still, he can't help but give a final, taunting wave as he disappears.

* * *

When he hears a commotion, Robin is not really all that surprised to learn that Maria has escaped. He is, however, surprised to find her running past the tents in her underclothes. She is wicked fast and already has a good headstart over most of the soldiers. He jumps to his feet and begins to chase as well, leading the group of pursuers through the maze of tents. It ends quickly, a dead end of crumbing stone and sloping cliff. She has no where to go and he closes in leisurley, his voice light and teasing when he speaks.

"Princess...what are you going to do now?

She climbs onto the stone wall and backs up as far as she can without falling. There is no anger in her expression anymore, just wide-eyed fear. She is running out of options and she knows it. Cautiously she looks below herself and scoots another inch back. He moves another step forward in retaliation. His eyes have taken on a predatory gleam and his smile is wicked and sharp. She is frantic now, eyes taking in every possible escape route; she can see none.

Then, with a terrified scream, she moves back a final inch and topples off the wall.

He rushes to the edge (he is **not** concerned for her, or so he tells himself) and spots her immediately. He watches as she staggers to her feet before limping off into the forest. Shock and disbelief melt away his previous expession; apparently, she is defiant to the end. Then he turns and sprints, intent on capturing her again.

* * *

Maria is already there when he goes out to check the trap. Robin is alone this time, and something about her smile makes him wary. He starts off the banter, which is something of a routine now (since when have they spent enough time around each other to form a _routine_?), and casually draws his knife. His suspicions prove to be correct when he is yanked off the ground and left dangling by his ankle. He's dropped his knife and she giggles like a small child, darting forward to snatch it up.

Now _she_ begins to tease and he discovers he sort of likes this newfound confidence of hers. He yells at her to let him down, but when she moves to do just that he realizes exactly what that entails and yells the opposite. She's enjoying this, he can tell, but she doesn't pay him anymore attention, instead focusing on the damn rabbit. Blood pounds in his ears as it all flows to his head and with his strange, upside down vision he can just make out that Maria is leaving. He calls for her to come back, and surprisingly, she does.

"I will let you down, if you do one thing for me. Just promise that you will listen."

Robin stops struggling. He just hangs there limply, completely dumbfounded, as she continues, oblivious.

"Say I promise...just say it!"

He stares at her a moment. This girl must be _absolutely crazy_. She's captured him, _Robin_, the same one who's attacked her twice and threw her into a dungeon and all she wants to do is _talk_. He repeats the promise, not actually expecting her to let him down and is promptly dropped on his head. He scrambles to his feet and moves towards her, intending to attack. He is bigger than her, stronger than her and is a better fighter than her, but she has his knife and that stupid mutt is back. The knife is tossed to him as he slumps on a tree root and jams his hat on his head. His tone is quiet and soft when he speaks over his shoulder.

"I'm listening"

So she tells him. She retells the whole story of the curse with one very new detail. Neither family took the moon pearls, the Moon Princess did. And Maria knows where they are. He listens, and when she's done, he gets up to leave. He wants to help her but she's a Merryweather and this could be a trap or some other plot to bring down his family and it's just _not going to happen._

"Robin, you have to help me, you have to!"

He doesn't get what she can't understand about this situation. They are not friends, they do not work together. This time the urge to shake some sense into her overpowers him and he grabs her shoulders in a bruising grip.

"**You are a Merryweather**," he says. She is too close and he is forgetting why he has to leave. Her shoulders are released as he takes a half-step back. "Right now I ought to kill you."

He doesn't realize how much this idea pains him until he says it. His face twists up and the end of his sentence comes out half-strangled. He tries to shrug it off but he knows he's failed. Then she's talking again and the look on her face is pleading him to go along with her, to help her.

"Kill me and the whole valley dies with me. You and I can stop it and we only have until moonrise."

She's desperate and her eyes are watery and her lips are in that stupid pout and - _and he really needs to stop staring at her mouth_. At the end of her sentence she moves to walk past him, but he doesn't let her. He catches her around the waist and draws her closer, warring with himself. He can't decide if he should kill her for being naive or let her go back to her family or scream at her to face reality or to close that last bit of distance between them and shut her up for a while. It's too much, he can't choose so he leans down and whispers in her ear.

"I'm still listening."

* * *

The first thing he does is lay a false trail. Even if he can't help her get the pearls, he can help her stay away from his father. When he jogs back over and she asks him why he had one of her hair ribbons, he can't quite come up with an answer.

Robin's heart sinks as she describes where the pearls are hidden. He knows exactly where that is and now he is running out of reasons why he can't _(shouldn't) _help her. So he asks her, hypothectically, what she intends to do if she does find the pearls. She stutters, glancing anywhere but his face, and it's just as he thought. Maria has no real plan, she just wants to toss the pearls in the ocean and hope everything will work out. It's stupid and naive and _unbearably Maria_. He cuts her off, leaning down until he is inches from her face.

"You know my father's coming after you?"

It's not just his father. Every single De Noir soldier will be out hunting them (_them_, because he's already decided to side with her). His question doesn't seem to phase her. In fact, even though she still won't meet his eyes the stutter in her voice is replaced with a quiet confidence.

"It's just a matter of finding them before he finds me."

He gives a little hum, not really sure what to make of her anymore. What happened to the prim and proper city girl who was afraid of the woods? He searches her face for any sign of that girl, but only sees Maria. He straightens up and walks away, trusting her to follow.

* * *

The closer they get to the tree, the more on edge Robin becomes. His father and the soldiers have probably been seaching for hours, and it is strange that he and Maria haven't been spotted by at least one yet. Paranoia sets in and he trails several steps behind her. Everytime he turns his head away he thinks he can see someone lurking in the shadows. There almost there, and Wrolf runs forward over the hill. She tries to catch up to the huge dog and he follows slowly, stunned that they have made it.

Not a moment after the thought passes through his head, a huge, leather-clad hand clamps over his mouth and he is dragged behind a tree. He tries to rip the hand away, then cold steel is preesed against his throat. He looks up at the face of the attacker and freezes, reconizing him immediately. It is one of his father's soldiers who presses a knife to his throat. The man is trying to peer around the tree and Robin can't understand why until he hears Maria calling for him.

In an instant his blood seems to freeze within his veins. He stops all movement and takes deep, shuddering breaths to calm himself. If she hears him, if she comes over, she is dead. He closes his eyes and prays for her to turn around. Turn around, go find Wrolf, go another direction, _anything_ as long as she _doesn't come towards him_. He hears her take a tentative step forward, then Wrolf is heard in the distance and he decides that dog is his favourite thing in the world right now. She calls for Wrolf, clearly terrified, before sprinting off into the woods.

Robin barely has time to sigh in relief before he is dragged off again.

There are two of them dragging him away. They both have iron grips on his arm as they drag him to a small clearing. He's sees the pit and the snarls of the trapped dog fill the air. Then the pounding of hoofbeats drowns it out and he pales. His father is here, Maria is nearby and he has no way to warn her. He's slammed against a tree and his father's presence towers over him. He can't stop shaking and he's nearly crying and his father is going to _kill _Maria when he finds her. Robin just shakes his head in denial, too frightened to speak. It's only after his father leaves and he is shoved back down to his knees that he realizes he should be a bit more concerned for himself. These men are going to kill _him_.

* * *

Robin doesn't really remember escaping. His father disappeared, he heard a gunshot and _he lost it_. The mutt jumped out of the pit and knocked away the men. He just had time to grab a fallen knife before he was running. Wrolf is gone and he can't remember how that happened either. All he knows is he has to find Maria somewhere in this maze of trees.

He has no direction until he hears her hair-raising scream, then he is barreling down the path towards the noise. He comes to a cross path and something small launches itself into his side. It's Maria, and she's furious, swinging puches, but he doesn't care because she's alive. He grabs her waist a pulls her forwards until she is pressed right up against him and he can wrap his arms around her. He closes his eyes and breathes in the scent of her, listening as she mutters (screams) curses at him. As quickly as it started it's over, and he's pushing her behind him, turning to face his father.

His father's expression is the coldest he's ever seen. Robin tries to reason with him, but it is no use.

"Traitor! You are nothing to me now."

He takes one look at the older man's face and knows it is true. He would just as soon kill Robin as Maria. He glares for one more instant, before whirling around, grabbing Maria by the wrist and stalking off into the forest. His father may not follow, but the others will.

Sure enough, he can hear the men shouting in the distance as the two of them dive for the passage under the tree.

* * *

It's like a whole different world down there. The shadows blanket everything and the silence is unbearably loud. He is almost grateful for the squeak of the door, until he remembers that there are people who want to kill them both lurking outside. They both duck inside the small room-no not a room, it's some sort of tomb. They frantically begin to search, mindful of the people outside, and find a passage, a dress, and endless amount of dust, but no pearls. Just as he's beginning to think she was wrong about this place, Maria stills, before slowly reaching out and plucking something from the wall.

She turns towards him with a smile on her face and holds out her hand. He can't believe it. They've actually found the pearls._ They've done it._ Robin's eyes light up and he grabs her around the waist, twirling in a quick circle as she giggles. It's not their brightest moment and the enemies, his family, hears them. Maria stares at him in horror as the banging on the door gets louder and louder. He tugs her hand and the two of them barely make it into the secret passage before the door is kicked down.

They collapse against a wall and Maria opens her mouth, but he silences her with a pointed look. Neither dare to breathe, and as the enemies draw closer to the door the are hidden behind his heart races. He gathers Maria tighter against himself, as though he could make them disappear. The soldiers come dangerously close, and when they finally move away Robin goes boneless. He slumps forward in relief, leaning against the wall, and coincidentially the small girl he has trapped there. His eyes fall closed as he takes several deep, steadying breaths.

It's only after he opens his eyes that he realizes his mistake. Maria is pressed between himself and the wall, and she is far too close. He can count every single eyelash. She looks just as startled as he is by their closeness. She stares up at him, a pretty blush beginning to stain her cheeks.

"Robin...?"

And that is apparently the last straw. He surges forward, grasping her hip with one hand and tangling the other in her hair, and crushes his mouth down on hers. She tastes sweet, like sugar, and he licks at her lips before pulling away. She is completely shocked now, and he can't help but give her one last hard kiss before stepping away. His mouth twists up into that wicked sharp grin and he gestures down the passage.

"Lead the way, Princess."

* * *

Maria stands, silhouetted against the moon. She's tried reasoning with the two older men, but time is running out. She must do this herself. Robin watches as she stands by herself at the edge of the cliff and thinks about how much she's changed from that girl in the carriage. He watches as she yells out to the ocean. He watches as she tosses the pearls, returning them to the sea.

He watches as they fly back towards her hands.

She catches them, confused, and twines them around her fingers. Her grip tightens and she snaps the necklace, tossong the loose pearls towards to water below. He thinks it's worked this time, until he catches sight of the pearls flying back towards her. He can't see what happens to them, but she remains facing the water for several moments.

When she finally turns to face all of them, no one speaks. The pearls are stuck to her dress, glowing softly in the moonlight. When he raises his eyes to her face, his heart constricts at her expression. Her eyes are glimmering with tears and she looks so heartbroken that he has no idea what to do. Slowly she flicks her gaze from person to person, finally landing on him. She stares at him for a moment before letting out a pained whisper.

_"I'm sorry."_

Then Maria turns and he realizes a second too late what she means to do. He runs forward but she's already disappeared over the edge and can't do anything but scream.

"No. No, NO! Maria!"

But she's gone, slipping beneath the inky waters. His breathing is shaky and gasping as he reaches the spot where she stood. He lays on the cliff, staring into the water, and prays for her to come back up. She never does.

* * *

Things get hazy after that. It's not the same as when he was chasing his father. That was adrenaline and anger and desparation. Now, Robin's just numb. His vision is blurred and blood pounds through his ears. He is barely aware of the bright flash of light, or his father dragging him back from the cliff as a giant wave heads straight for them. There's a crash and water shoots hundreds of feet into the air, blocking out the moon. When it falls his eyes remain on the sky, wishing to be swallowed up.

Then Benjamin gasps, his sister darts forward and _Maria is alive_. He stares, wide-eyed, and he doesn't understand but he doesn't really want to. Her uncle hugs her, then Loveday, and his mind can't process anything fast enough. When she walks over to him, he is still to stunned to react.

"Were you worried Robin?"

He hasn't moved his gaze from the sky and he speaks as though he hasn't heard her. His voice is hollow and his eyes are blank.

"You jumped off a cliff."

Her brow furrows and she is about to make a retort when his eyes snap to her face. They are positively burning now, staring straight through her. This time his voice is full of barely constrained emotion and she can't look away. He grabs her shoulders and grips tight, and his voice shakes.

"You _jumped _off a _cliff_. What the _**hell**_ is wrong with you, Princess?

Then his hand winds around her waist and she is yanked forward and he is kissing her again. It's just like it was in the secret passage, but a million times better, because this time she can think and react and kiss back. He pulls away and drags his mouth to her ear. His breath is hot against her skin and she shivers as he whispers.

"Good job, Princess."

She can't see the wicked sharp grin on his face, but she can hear it.

* * *

Whew! And that's it. Hope you liked it! Review with comments, critisism, anything.

(Also would anyone read a sort-of sequel if I wrote it? Yes? No? Maybe?)


End file.
